


the world will wait

by fonulyn



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: A lot of Naps, Andy is around too, Domestic Fluff, Feelings, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, bc that is how i roll, but mostly just feelsy and soft, idk it's soft, maybe a little crack-y?, the additional otp: Joe/naps, very vague mentions of canon-typical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26090404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn
Summary: “You kind of sleep a lot?” Nile says, and it somehow turns into a question instead of a statement. She’s sitting on the ground, back against the trunk of a big oak, and Joe’s sprawled next to her – predictably – napping. Nicky and Andy are arguing over the proper way to roast corn on open fire, and as amusing as it was for the first fifteen minutes Nile finds her focus wandering.Joe hums, without opening his eyes. “I’m not always asleep, sometimes I’m just relaxing.”--Or the one wherein Joe takes a lot of naps and the whole team gets to relax.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 84
Kudos: 760





	the world will wait

**Author's Note:**

> for [this prompt](https://theoldguardkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1468.html?thread=248252#cmt248252). I am a sleepy old lady, and I love writing sleepy moments :’D

It’s only been a few weeks and Nile is barely coping with the whole immortality-business, when Andy tells her she’ll be learning to fly. They’re supposed to fly over most of Africa in some rickety old thing that doesn’t look like it’ll hold up even on a good day, and Nile swallows her protests only because she’s got her pride, thank you very much. If Andy thinks that she can do this, she damn well will do this.

Yet Nile is nervous, the night before, and when Nicky and Joe turn in before eight pm like truly old men, she’s in the kitchen brewing another pot of coffee. She’s gone through the manual’s old yellowed pages a million times, the words and images like burned in her mind by now, and it’s past midnight when Andy snatches the papers from her and tells her to go the fuck to sleep.

For the following four hours Nile lies in bed, staring mournfully at Joe and Nicky across the room. How the hell are they able to sleep so soundly? And more importantly, why aren’t they sharing their secret? Usually Nile is good at falling asleep wherever, whenever, but now every time she closes her eyes all she sees are things that could go wrong. 

The following day, the actual flying goes surprisingly smoothly. It’s tiring, though, focusing so hard on the controls and not screwing this up. Technically Andy can no longer jump from a plane and survive, and that fact stresses Nile out more than she thought it would.

Halfway through the flight Andy takes pity on Nile and takes over the controls. Nile is so tired she feels like she could fall asleep right then and there, and she clambers to the back of the plane, to where Nicky is reading one of the three books he’d packed along for the journey and Joe is fast asleep leaning against him. They seem to be in the exact same position they were in hours ago when they took off.

So Nile approaches the two, plops down to sit across from them. Nicky doesn’t acknowledge her at first, still focused on his book, but he’s almost done with it and it takes merely minutes before he flips to the last page and finally closes the book. He looks up at Nile, then, and Nile takes that as an invitation to speak. 

“I don’t get it,” she says, inclining her head towards Joe, “you guys slept like twelve hours last night.” 

There’s momentary confusion, but then understanding dawns on Nicky’s face. “Ah,” he nods slowly, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “It’s because I don’t usually sleep well when we travel. Joe is very adamant that I rest up beforehand.” He glances at Joe, still soundly asleep as it seems, but is careful not to move in case it’d wake him up. “He says I’m unbearable when I get too tired.”

“Yeah, no, that’s just sweet,” Nile says, shaking her head a little, “what I don’t understand is how he’s able to sleep _even more_.”

The words pull a soft chuckle from Nicky. “It’s his special talent,” he says, and his smile turns a little wider. “Sleep is Joe’s truest love.”

“Lies,” Joe suddenly mumbles, cracking an eye open to glare at them. “Lies and slander. I would forgo sleep for a thousand years if it would keep you by my side!” He sounds like he’s been awake for a while now, but when he straightens and stretches his arms out he’s yawning, looking for all intents and purposes like someone who woke up a second ago. His eyes are barely open, squinting like all the light in the world personally offended him and his sleepy mind.

The look Nicky gives him has no right to be so smitten. Like he’s falling head over heels all over again. “Yes,” he amends, turning back towards Nile. “Sleep is Joe’s second truest love.”

Humming approvingly, Joe settles back down, head on Nicky’s shoulder. 

Nile rolls her eyes. If she’s smiling, too, then that’s no one’s business.

*

Running reminds Nile that not everything has changed in her life even with the newfound immortality. The burn in her lungs, the ache in her muscles is still the same, sweat making her shirt stick to her back and the music blasting loudly in her ears. It’s something like a happy place for her, her feet hitting the ground in a steady rhythm that makes her forget everything else.

It calms down the jitters whenever she feels like she’s going out of her mind, and as she slowly comes to a halt next to the small house they’re staying in she feels like a whole new person. Quickly she does a few basic stretches, before skipping up the three stairs to the door. 

Nile makes a pit-stop in the kitchen, grabbing some bread and cheese to go with it, not in the mood for anything more complicated right now. She stuffs half a sandwich into her mouth as she steps into the living room. Andy is nowhere to be seen, which is usual at this hour so Nile isn’t too worried about it. Nicky’s propped himself in the corner of the couch, working on something and…

“Are you _knitting_?” Nile asks through a mouthful of bread, repeating the question as soon as she’s swallowed. “Seriously, knitting?”

“Crocheting, actually,” Nicky corrects her without looking up from whatever it is he’s working on. It’s off-white and looks kind of …really complicated. “If you want to make fun of me for it, I warn you,” he looked up, a hint of a smile appearing on his face, “Andy has set the bar pretty high.”

“Well she’s had time to practice,” Nile says, although she has no intention in making fun of him, “give me a few decades and I’m sure I can do better.” She’s curious now and she moves closer. “What’re you work—” She gets cut off by a yelp as she trips over something on the floor.

Upon closer inspection that something is Joe. He’s stretched out on the floor in the warm light that’s filtering through the windows, like a cat that has found the only properly sunny spot in the room and refuses to move from it. He’s asleep, even though lying on the floor like that can’t be too comfortable, can it?

Nile glances up at Nicky, who’s focused back on his work again. Obviously this is nothing out of the ordinary, then. “He’s like a cat,” she says as she carefully sidesteps Joe, earning a questioning look from Nicky with the words. She gestures towards Joe, a little vaguely. “You know. Cats do that?”

“Oh.” Nicky nods slowly in understanding. “I’ve never spent much time with cats. We… never had pets, really.” He thinks for a moment, then, before shrugging. “Well, horses. And there was a period when Joe and I had sheep.” 

Nile really, really wants to ask about that but she doesn’t get the chance to, not before Joe groans a little on the floor. She looks down, assuming he’s going to get up and complain about his back hurting, but instead he only shifts a little and goes right back to sleep. With a small sigh, Nile grabs one of the decorative pillows from the couch, and manages to somehow get it under Joe’s head without waking him up.

For a second Nile watches Joe nuzzle into the pillow, and when she looks up she finds Nicky smiling at her fondly. 

A week later she gets a neatly wrapped present. It’s a shawl in a beautiful lace pattern, and she treasures it for years until one fateful day when a drug dealer they’re trying to bust slits her throat and blood gets spilled on it. She might or might not take the dealer out a little more forcefully than strictly necessary, and no matter how much she tries later the blood just won’t wash off the shawl. 

Nicky makes her a new one.

*

“You kind of sleep a lot?” Nile says, and it somehow turns into a question instead of a statement. She’s sitting on the ground, back against the trunk of a big oak, and Joe’s sprawled next to her – predictably – napping. Nicky and Andy are arguing over the proper way to roast corn on open fire, and as amusing as it was for the first fifteen minutes Nile finds her focus wandering.

Joe hums, without opening his eyes. “I’m not always asleep, sometimes I’m just relaxing.” 

“Still,” Nile says and shrugs, although she knows no one sees it. “Is it a coping mechanism?” It’s not like Joe sleeps all the time, not really, he’s full of bursts of energy and when he sets out to something he’s probably the most driven one of them all. He sings the loudest and laughs the longest and is so vibrant that he manages to draw pretty much anyone out of their shell. 

Yet he does take a lot of naps. More than anyone Nile has ever known.

“Sometimes,” Joe admits, cracking one eye open as he peers up at her. “And after dying in a… spectacular way it can require a lot of sleep to recover. But I just…” he stops for a second and Nile knows it’s not because he’s lacking the words, but because he’s distracted by the scene by the fire, smiling dopily. Then his attention is back on Nile and he nods towards the ground. “Try it.”

A little apprehensively Nile settles down on her back, staring up, and only when Joe nudges her with his elbow she closes her eyes. She focuses on the sound of Joe’s voice, as he keeps on talking. “Focus on the breeze on your skin, on the warmth of the sun.” He speaks slowly, in measured words, and the rhythm of his voice already makes the tension bleed off Nile’s limbs. “Breathe in, hold it. Then slowly, slowly…” he breathes out slowly, louder than normal, as if he’s showing her how.

Nile doesn’t even remember when she’s last felt this pleasantly drowsy and relaxed, like there’s not a care in the world left. She’s smiling to no one in particular, focusing on her slow breaths and the way she feels so wonderfully boneless. 

They’re silent for a while, and even Andy and Nicky have quieted down, talking in almost hushed voices. Or then it’s because Nile is no longer focusing on anything other than the relaxation. 

Eventually Nile opens her eyes and when she tilts her head to the side, Joe meets her gaze. “You’re right. It is really nice,” she admits. “I get why you’d do that.”

“See?” Joe’s smile turns smug. “Besides,” he adds, raising his voice so it’s definitely audible by the fire. “Besides, the love of my life barely lets me sleep during the nights. He is _insatiable_.”

Andy snorts out a laugh. 

Blindly, Nicky lobs a wadded napkin at Joe. He hits Nile instead, but exactly no one minds.

*

The apartment they’re staying at is so small they don’t even have a separate bedroom in it. There’s a small kitchen nook, two beds lining the opposite wall, and a sleeping bag spread at the foot of one of them. Nile had insisted she didn’t mind sleeping on the floor, especially as they wouldn’t be staying for more than a night, maybe two, and Andy had eventually relented and taken the second bed.

They’re all asleep now, except for Joe. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, sketching in the margins of the old phone book he’d found in the apartment. There’s already the slope of Andy’s back drawn on the bottom of the page, as she looks more relaxed than usual in her slumber. There are a few attempts at Nile’s current hairdo, one of her smile. But as per usual, most of the sketches are of Nicky. There’s something so magnetic about him that even after drawing him for a million times Joe never gets enough.

The coffee has gone cold in his mug, the night silent around him. There’s only the sound of Andy and Nile breathing steadily, of Nicky making a weird snuffling sound in his sleep as he tries to tangle himself into the sheets further. He’s hopeless when he sleeps alone, the covers either ending up on the floor or wrapped around his limbs so he can barely move. 

Joe huffs out a silent laugh as he sketches the arc of Nicky’s foot between the phone numbers and names. He’s so focused on his task that he doesn’t notice when Nicky gets up, but suddenly there’s a warm presence next to him and without looking up he knows who it is. Willingly he tilts his head backwards a little, resting it on a wide shoulder. 

“Can’t sleep?” Nicky asks, sliding his arms around Joe’s neck from behind. He presses his nose into Joe’s hair and inhales, letting out a content sigh as he practically nuzzles against him. 

“I took that four hour nap yesterday,” Joe reminds him gently, bringing a hand up to give Nicky’s forearm a squeeze. “Even I can’t sleep infinitely.”

“No,” Nicky agrees, “but it’s cold without you.” His breath is warm against Joe’s neck as he speaks and he shifts so he can brush his lips down to Joe’s cheek, pressing a soft kiss somewhere in the midst of his beard. “I can make coffee,” he offers, then, straightening and beginning to shift away.

Quickly Joe tightens his hold on Nicky’s arm and holds him back, his heart warming at how easily Nicky gives in to him. “No,” he says, and finally sets the pencil down. His legs feel a little stiff from sitting still for so long and he stretches them slightly as he stands, before turning around so he’s face to face with Nicky. Slowly he brings a hand up, brushes his fingers over Nicky’s cheek and watches those sleepy eyes fall shut. 

“Let’s go back to bed,” Joe whispers. He breathes a kiss on the bridge of Nicky’s nose, slides an arm around him, and pulls him along. When he feels Nicky’s hand slip under his shirt, palm warm on his back, he can’t help but smile.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm [also on tumblr](https://fonulyn.tumblr.com/post/627362835825082368/the-world-will-wait-joenaps-joenicky-gen)! :3 come say hi!


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